The Morning Wire / Sat Sep 12, 2026

Feeder Cattle — prices, barns, and planning

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The Morning Wire

The trading day in one page — Sat, Sep 12
● Written from USDA reportsEvery figure as filed
← Sep 11Sep 12Sep 14 →

The market in a line

Sat, Sep 12
Choice cutout closed $2.43 lower at $375.94. 13 barns across 8 states reported 833 priced lots.

Feeder steers

National, week of Sep 7 USDA
Weighted across every reported lot, by weight class. Weekly rather than daily — one day's barns are too thin a base for a national figure.
WeightPricevs prior weekHeadBarns
300-399 lb484.42/cwt$6.15 higher2,279118
400-499 lb440.68/cwt$23.93 higher4,797130
500-599 lb390.59/cwt$19.20 higher6,067134
600-699 lb352.68/cwt$5.49 higher4,750129
700-799 lb339.69/cwt$8.28 higher4,396115
800-899 lb345.14/cwt$20.98 higher6,20079

Barn by barn, 500–599 lb steers

Same day, same class USDA
Every barn that sold at least 20 head of this class on Sat, Sep 12, weighted by head. Spread of $77.15 between the top and bottom of 7 barns. An average moves with the cattle that showed up as much as with the buyers in the seats — a yard with better grade will average higher on the same demand. This is where the money landed, not a verdict on the barn.
BarnStateAverageHead
Greenville Livestock AuctionIL412.47/cwt70
Shenandoah Valley LivestockVA391.18/cwt82
Jackson County Regional Livestock MarketWV369.90/cwt55
Somerset Livestock AuctionKY366.65/cwt43
Springlake Livestock Market, Inc.VA365.94/cwt24
Carthage Livestock AuctionTN345.01/cwt33
Empire - BathNY335.31/cwt20

Boxed beef

PM close · Sep 11 USDA
Choice $375.94, $2.43 lower. Select $353.13, $1.07 higher. The Choice–Select spread stands at $22.81. 104 loads traded.

Fed cattle

Negotiated cash, week to date USDA
22,965 head traded Sep 5–Sep 11.
RegionBasisPriceHead
Iowa-MinnesotaDressed Delivered351.395,684
Iowa-MinnesotaDressed FOB349.78372
Iowa-MinnesotaLive Delivered219.02208
Iowa-MinnesotaLive FOB222.075,822
NebraskaDressed Delivered350.335,749
NebraskaDressed FOB350.00830

At the barns

USDA market reporters, as filed USDA
One barn per state, largest first — more states file than fit here. Your own state is linked below.

Compared to two weeks ago, 650-950 lbs steers sold 5.00 to 15.00 higher and 650-1000 lbs heifers sold steady to 15.00 higher. Demand was good to very good from the larger than normal number of buyers in the crowd and the internet bidding was also very active.

Ericson · Nebraska

Compared to last Saturday the feeder market was stronger with a good quality offering. Feeder steers and heifers 600 lbs and under were 6.00 to 10.00 higher or greater in spots with a good supply and strong demand. Yearling steers and heifers appeared stronger as well but with limited comparisons.

Somerset Livestock Auction · Kentucky

No trends established on Feeder Cattle, due to lack of comparable sales. Slaughter Cows 5.00 lower. Slaughter Bulls not established.

Crossville Livestock Auction · Tennessee

No market trends available due to limited comparable receipts, however, a higher undertone was noted for feeder classes due to the recent upturn in the futures market, and a lower undertone was noted for slaughter classes.

Greenville Livestock Auction - Greenville, TN · Tennessee

Cows and bulls

National direct, dressed USDA
ClassPriceDirectionHead
Breaker (75% lean)275.34/cwt$7.75 lower395
Boner (85% lean)284.56/cwt$6.14 lower2,189
Cutter (90% lean)288.43/cwt$6.61 lower3,819
Premium White310.62/cwt$6.73 higher1,431
Bull (92% lean)338.55/cwt$2.26 higher514

What published

See every report →
15 USDA reports carried this date — sale barns, state summaries, video and board sales, grain, hay and the national desks.
Source: USDA AMS. Every figure is USDA's as filed, and the direction words — higher, lower, steady— follow the arithmetic rather than an opinion. Quoted comment is the work of USDA market reporters, credited to the sale it came from. This is RaisedBeef's rendering of USDA data, not a copy of USDA's document and not endorsed by USDA.